Grocery stores and large retailers in the United States often employ mechanical cart collection methods using cart pushers and/or pullers. Current machines may include a manual control station on one end of the machine complete with steering and forward and reverse throttle controls and various gauges and switches, for example to monitor the machine's operation and turn the machine on and off. In manual operation, the operator may stand at the manual controls and steer the machine and control the throttle. The collection of carts using machines often uses a radio remote control held by the operator at the front of a line of carts to actuate the motor in the machine to push the line of carts to the store. To steer the line of carts, which are stacked together one in front of the other, the operator may push or pull the front of the front cart in the line 5 to 10 degrees to the right or left to begin the turn. Each of the carts and the machine following will follow the turn started by the first cart. On some machines, the radio controls only move the machine forward.
Cart moving machines may include a strobe light mounted high to be visible and warn against the hazard of the slow moving or stopped machine in a parking lot. Some organizations design their buildings with cart doors where cart retrieving personnel can return the carts to the building from the parking lot. These doors often have a reduced door head height, when compared to typical entrance doors, to prevent patrons from using these access points. In some cases, the relatively high strobe on the moving machines can be damaged by inadvertent contact with these door heads. Additionally, cart moving machines may be shipped on pallets and in trucks to the purchaser. At times the strobe light on the machine is damaged during shipping process.